Saturday, 11 February 2017

I never managed to visit Bara Menyn cafe at their initial location in Cardiff city centre. Perhaps being tucked away off Womanby Street wasn’t the best location for passing trade but their move to Llandaff’s Ffandango’s deli last August seems to have paid off.

Over the last few months, I've heard great things about their menu of Welsh influenced crowd pleasers - 12 hour pulled pork on sourdough rarebit, huevos rancheros and Mamgu’s cawl with rarebit all put in an appearance.

We were warned there’d be a 25 minute wait as more Glamorgan sausages needed to made from scratch. In reality, the wait dragged to a hefty 45. A sincere apology and the quality of the food made up for it.

Flat whites, made using Coaltown coffee, tasted great.

I ordered the full Welsh breakfast (£9.95) with an extra Penclawdd cockle bomb on the side (£2.50).

It was a proper looker and the highlights came thick and fast.

The crisp crumbed cockle bomb filled with smooth mash studded with salty cockles, savoury seaweed and a big twist of lemon was the pick of the bunch. Beautifully crisp and caramelised black collar bacon, a beguiling field mushroom topped with truffle and mustard laced rarebit and smoky baked beans flecked with shreds of pulled pork were also right on the mark.

A single sliver of white pudding (I’d have snaffled a few more slices), a lightly herbed sausage, earthy black pudding, a wodge of wholemeal toast topped with a runny fried egg and a scattering of savoury Welshman’s caviar (dried seaweed), undercrisp sautéed potatoes and a sweet baked tomato completed the dish.

Mrs G’s vegetarian breakfast (£9.95) wasn’t quite as hefty but it was equally lush. Accompanying her fried egg on toast, beans, sautéed potatoes, rarebit topped mushroom and baked tomatoes were a couple of thick slices of golden halloumi and the main event, a whopper of a Glamorgan sausage. A mega crisp and grease free exterior gave way to soft mash humming with cheese and leek – this was as good an example of the Welsh classic as I’ve ever eaten.

The breakfast from Bara Menyn was first class. Granted, these aren’t greasy spoon prices, but you’re paying for quality.

About Gourmet Gorro

My name is Ed Gilbert. I'm an indiscriminate glutton who enjoys a late night doner as much as a bit of posh. I like to think I can occasionally share a valid opinion about food when my judgement hasn't been clouded by the meat red mist. I'm a Cardiff based Geordie who's spent time living in Newcastle, London, Chester and Cambridge. I mostly write reviews of restaurants in Cardiff, South Wales.

I use a Lumix LX5 camera. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated.